4.“I don't have to,” shrugged Dave as he tied the laces. “I just
have to outrun you!”

5.There are two
kinds of wisdom

a.common
sense

b.and
spiritual insight that sees below the surface of things to understand the heart
and purpose of God

6.Common sense is
something anyone can have

7.But spiritual
insight is something only Christians who seek God can have

B.Common Sense

1.Now, don’t get me
wrong, I’m not saying that common sense isn’t important

2.It is—it’s very
important

3.One morning the
young new president of a bank made an appointment with his predecessor to seek
some advice.

a.he
began by saying, “Sir, as you well know, I lack a great deal of the
qualifications you already have for this job.You have been very successful as president of this bank, and I wondered
if you would be kind enough to share with me some of the insights you have
gained from your years here that have been the keys to your success.”

b.the
older man looked at him with a stare and replied: “Young man, two words: good decisions.”

c.the
younger man responded, ‘Thank you very much, sir, but how does one come to know
which are the good decisions?”

d.the
elder replied, “One word, young man: experience.”

e.the
junior man asked, “But how does one get experience?”

f.“Two
words, young man: bad decisions.”

4.It’s true that
experience is a fine teacher if we are willing to listen to it.

5.In fact, a lot of
people could make a fortune and retire in their senior years if they could only
sell their experiences for what they cost them

C.Wisdom

1.But true spiritual
wisdom isn’t gained from experience

2.This wisdom has
only one source - it is the gift of God

ii.TEXT

A.V. 3

{3}And Solomon
loved the LORD, walking in the statutes of his father David, except that he
sacrificed and burned incense at the high places.

1.Solomon’s story
begins w/high commendation

2.He loved the
Lord—and he sought to follow in the footsteps of his father David

3.But he did
something David hadn’t done

a.he
worshipped God at the high places

b.because
as we learn from v. 2, there was no central place of worship yet

c.the
tabernacle Israel had made in the Exodus was by this time long gone

d.and
the temple had not yet been built

e.David
had brought the ark to Jerusalem and had built a tent for it and erected an
altar there, and while it was called a tabernacle, it wasn’t the same as before

f.so
the people worshipped God and made their sacrifices on the tops of hills near
their cities and villages

g.after
the temple was built, these high places were abandoned

B.V. 4

{4} Now the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there, for
that was the great high place: Solomon offered a thousand burnt offerings on
that altar.

1.2 Chronicles 1
tells us that this was a special event

2.The entire
leadership of the nation went with Solomon to Gibeon

3.In a sense, this
was Solomon’s “inauguration”

4.As king, he wanted
the entire nation to know that it was his intent to carry on in the religious
tradition of his father David

C.V. 5

{5} At Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream
by night; and God said, "Ask! What shall I give you?"

1.On the night of
the inauguration, God appeared to Solomon with a remarkable offer

2.Really, it is more
than an offer; it’s a command

3.“ASK!What shall I give you?”

4.We miss it in the
translation but the language is clear -

a.Solomon
understood that God was giving him Carte Blanche - a blank check

b.God
told Solomon to ask, and whatever he
asked, He would do!

5.Now, if God
appeared to any of us with this same command, what would we ask for?

6.If we had to boil
down our request into one word, or one brief phrase, to one thing, what would
it be?

a.fame?

b.wealth?

c.power
-possessions - position?

7.Solomon chose something
else

D.Vs. 6-9

{6} And Solomon said: "You have shown great mercy
to Your servant David my father, because he walked before You in truth, in
righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with You; You have continued this
great kindness for him, and You have given him a son to sit on his throne, as
it is this day.

{7} "Now, O LORD my God, You have made Your
servant king instead of my father David, but I am a little child; I do not know
how to go out or come in.

{8} "And Your servant is in the midst of Your
people whom You have chosen, a great people, too numerous to be numbered or
counted.

{9} "Therefore give to Your servant an
understanding heart to judge Your people, that I may discern between good and
evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?"

1.Solomon was only
19 or 20 at this time

a.he
was emerging into full manhood

b.but
still had some of the naïveté of youth

2.He was aware how
great the challenge before him was and how impotent he was to fulfill his
office

3.The task was too
large for his ability - so he asked for the wisdom to rule wisely

4.You know what this
tells us about Solomon?

a.he
already had some wisdom

b.and
the wisdom he had told him he needed more

5.He who seeks
wisdom first, is already wise

6.It takes wisdom to
see the importance of wisdom, and to pursue more

7.Solomon asked
specifically for the practical wisdom to rule

a.as
king he was judge, ruler, and captain

b.he
was mature enough to realize his youthfulness and lack of experience would
hinder these functions

c.so he asked for the practical wisdom to rule
beyond what his years had taught him

8.Many young people
think they know better than their parents how things ought to be done

9.A young man went
to the clubhouse of a large golf course and asked for a lesson by the club pro

a.one
of the pro’s friend was there and went along to watch

b.after
a few swings, the pro started offering some suggestions for improvement

c.but
each time, the pupil interrupted with his own version of what went wrong and
how to correct it

d.After
a few minutes of this interference, the pro began nodding his head in agreement

e.at
the end of the lesson, the student paid the pro, congratulated him on his
expertise as a teacher, and left—clearly pleased with himself

f.the
pro’s friend was so astonished by the performance that he asked, “Why did you
go along with him?”

g.the old pro replied with a grin as he placed
the fee in his pocket, “I learned years ago that it’s a waste of time to sell
answers to a man who wants to buy echoes.”

10.There is a period
in life between about 14 and 20, in which most people think the world should be
turned over to them

a.as
far as they are concerned, the history of the world up to that point has been a
troubled course, but now, THEY
have arrived,

b.they
think everyone over the age of 35 is either brain dead or in a permanent state
of altered consciousness

c.these
young idealists prefer that their elders get out of the way and let them run things,
cause they got things figured out

d.if
God came to them as He did to Solomon, their request would be to be put to put
them in charge of the world

11.But then, when these young idealists actually have to
live on their own, and they get a chance to try their ideas, they realize the
foolishness of their bright-eyed but naïve ideals

12.Solomon lived under
no such illusions

13.He knew the task was greater than he was, so he asked for the wisdom
to rule well

A Critical Point!!!

14.Was this request
the best thinghe could have
asked for?

15.Certainly it was a
good request—even God was pleased with it . . .

E.Vs. 10-14

{10} The speech pleased the LORD, that Solomon had
asked this thing.

{11} Then God said to him: "Because you have asked
this thing, and have not asked long life for yourself, nor have asked riches
for yourself, nor have asked the life of your enemies, but have asked for
yourself understanding to discern justice,

{12} "behold, I have done according to your words;
see, I have given you a wise and understanding heart, so that there has not
been anyone like you before you, nor shall any like you arise after you.

{13} "And I have also given you what you have not
asked: both riches and honor, so that there shall not be anyone like you among
the kings all your days.

{14} "So if you walk in My ways, to keep My
statutes and My commandments, as your father David walked, then I will lengthen
your days."

1.God gave Solomon
his request—He gave him wisdom to rule and to judge

2.And he gave him
all the things he could have asked for but didn’t . . .

a.wealth

b.health

c.and
great honor

3.But again, I ask:
Was this the best thing he could have asked for?

4.Was it the highest
gift he could have received?

5.Close, but not
quite.

a.his
request for wisdom certainly was good

b.but
it wasn’t the best

6.Surely the deep longings of his father for communion with God were
better!

7.Solomon sought wisdom
/ David sought wisdom’s source

a.Solomon
wanted to know how to rule / David wanted to know Him who rules

b.Solomon
wanted to know how to judge Israel / David wanted to know the Judge of
Heaven& Earth

c.Solomon
asked for an understanding heart to know the people’s need / David asked for a
heart to understand God’s desire

(Psa 27:4)One
thing I have desired of the LORD, That will I seek: That I may dwell in the
house of the LORD All the days of my life.

8.There is no sign
in Solomon’s story that he ever had the deep inward devotion of his father

9.And while he
composed 3000 Proverbs and 100 songs, these never rose to the level of David’s
Psalms

10.Solomon’s wisdom remains
a milestone and proverb in the history of man

a.we
say that someone who demonstrate remarkably good sense, has the “wisdom of
Solomon”

11.But in all his
great wisdom, Solomon’s later years were marked by apostasy and gross sin

12.Indeed, it seems
that to the degree he possessed wisdom, to that degree of foolishness he fell
when he turned his back on God

iii.conclusion

A.What Lesson?

1.What is the lesson
all this teaches?

2.Just this - while
some desires are more noble than others, there is really only one thing we
should seek

3.That one thing is
neither gift nor promise from God

4.Rather, it is God
Himself

(Mat 6:33)“Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these
things shall be added to you.”

5.If we seek God
first, then everything else we might ever want or need will be ours

6.Just as God
blessed Solomon with all he hadn’t asked for --

7.So all shall be
ours if we have Christ

(Psa 37:4)Delight yourself in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your
heart.

B.A Secret

1.Can I share a
secret with you?

2.People who do not
make pleasure and worldly good their first object are the only ones who can be
most safely trusted with it and who get the most enjoyment out of it

3.If a person lives
for wealth, and sets all their desire on it, what they have and gain is never enough

a.a
rich man was once asked when he would have enough

b.he
said, “When I have a little more.”

4.When those who
long for and strive for fame and fortune attain it, they find it isn’t what
they hoped it would be

5.So they seek more,
thinking then they will be satisfied

6.But it is never
enough!

7.So they never are able to get full enjoyment out of what they do have, because it never seems enough

(Psa 16:11)You
will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your
right hand are pleasures forevermore.

8.The one who seeks
God first finds that each blessing He
gives is a surprise and a delight

9.They are free to
enjoy it because they see it as a gift freely given and undeserved

10.Oh that God’s
people today would understand this!

11.Delight yourself in
the Lord

12.Find your real joy
and delight in Him

13.And because your
desires will all flow from that, he will be well pleased to give you those
desires

14.The only way to be
sure of getting what we want, is to wish what God desires to give = HIMSELF!

15.And to ask it of
Him!

C.Asking For The Best

1.There is a very
old tradition that some families still follow when there is a baby in the
family

2.At the child’s
first birthday, with all the relatives there and watching, they set the child
in a chair in front of a table and put three objects in front of them: a shot
glass, money, and a cross

3.The idea is that
whatever object the child picks up first is their direction in life

a.if
the cross - ministry

b.money
- business

c.shot
glass - bum

4.Now, here’s the
trick:depending on the parents desire
for their child, they select versions of these three objects that they think
will appeal to their child

a.if
they want him to be successful in business they put out a nice shiny half
dollar and a dull, small, wooden cross

b.if
they want the child to be a preacher or priest, they put out a shiny silver
cross and a dirty, dull dollar bill

c.and
of course, they all select a plain, small shot glass and put it a bit further
from the child’s reach

5.We are like that
child—and there are an endless number of things that are set before us

6.Depending on where
we are and who we’re dealing with, they objects vary in their appeal

7.But above them all stands the best choice of all - to chose the
Lord and to seek the wisdom of knowing Him

8.We might think it
would be pretty great if God appeared to us as He did to Solomon and ask us
what we want from Him

9.But you know what,
while God doesn’t appear to us in a vision or dream, we have that same choice every day

10.In fact, we have
that same choice every time we chose

11.By His grace, may
we choose wisely! MAY WE CHOOSE HIM!!!!

D.Getting Practical

1.Now, many of us
this morning are of a practical mind - and want things spelled out in specific
terms

2.So let’s break
this down

3.What this means is
that we ask God to make us mindful of His presence